With the defeat of fascism and militarism
at the end of World War II, the world was immediately thrust into the Atomic
Age and what became known as The Cold War between the United States and the
Soviet Union (USSR).Each

superpower
quickly built up its nuclear weapons arsenal and developed the ability to put
nuclear warheads on rockets and cruise missiles. The world was on the brink of nuclear
war.In the upcoming debate, you will be
expected to defend one of theabove positions in regards to the role the country played
in creating the Cold War.

Question:Who was more responsible for the Cold War?

Historical Background:

Opening Statement:

Position #1:

Position #2:

Position #3:

Position #4:

Position #5:

Deference to the opposing side:

Closing Statement:

Note: Prepare for the debate as
usual, but hand inresearch from at leastthree separate resources.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

School Library Month (SLM) is the American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) celebration of school librarians and their programs. Every April school librarians are encouraged to create activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that strong school library programs play in a student's educational career. Read about the history of School Library Month.The 2014 theme is Lives change @ your library® and Jeff Kinney, New York Times bestselling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, has been named the national spokesperson.“I don't know where I'd be without my school library,” said Kinney. “Our librarians were passionate about putting great books in the hands of kids, and making us into lifelong readers. School libraries introduce kids to whole new worlds and new perspectives and are so important in broadening kids' minds. It's crucial that we support our school libraries, especially in times of tightening budgets. I'm so grateful for the well-stocked libraries and knowledgeable, dedicated school librarians that were a part of my childhood.”

a.Drag your
notecards out of the “new notecards” pile on the left hand side.

b.See what
information you have. Do you notice cards that are of similar topics? You can
start to group them together. Drag one notecard on top of the other. NoodleTools
will ask you to create a pile name. Write down what it is that all of these
cards have in common. Put the cards in the order you’d like them to appear in
the paper. You should have at least 2
notecards in each pile.

4.The outline:

a.Uppercase
roman numerals explain what the paragraph is (the main idea)

b.Uppercase
letters give you “Subtopics”.

c.To get started with your introduction:

i.Roman
numeral I should say “Introduction” and hit the green plus sign.

ii.For A, write
“Hook” and hit the green plus sign.

iii.For 1, write
what your grabber will be, then hit the plus sign, and then the “move left”
button until you see B.

iv.For B, write
“Research Questions” and hit the green plus sign.

v.For 1, write
your first research question, then hit the plus sign, and then the “move left”
button until you see C. For 2, write your second research question, etc.

vi.Hit the
green plus sign and use the “move left” button until you see C. Write “Thesis
Statement”.

vii.Hit the
green plus sign and type in what your thesis statement is.

viii.For your first Body Paragraph:

1.Hit the
green plus sign and use the “move left” button until you see roman numeral two
(II). Type in “Body Paragraph 1 Main Idea:…“ and then type in what this
paragraph will be about. You can rephrase and answer your first question here.

2.Drag and
drop the pile of notecards that
corresponds with the main idea.

3.Repeat for
the rest of your body paragraphs. You
need at least 3 body paragraphs.

For this year’s research assignment, you will
become an expert on one topic of your choosing. You will conduct research and
take what you have learned throughout the coming weeks to write a research
paper on your topic.

Timeline
and Grading:

TASK

DUE DATE

Graded As…

Determine my topic and research questions

Tuesday, April 8th

4th Quarter Classwork

Declare my thesis statement

Wednesday, April 9th

4th Quarter Classwork

Submit 6 notecards on Noodletools

**9 for honors

Every day from Wednesday, April 9th-Friday,
April 11th

4th Quarter Classwork

Finalize all notecards on Noodletools and submit
works cited page

Monday, April 21st

4th Quarter Quiz

Finalize your MLA outline on Noodletools

Wednesday, April 23rd

4th Quarter Classwork

Hand in my final paper, works cited,and rubric

Friday, April 25th

4th Quarter Major Assignment

**Dates are subject to change

Your task is as follows:

Pick from a very broad category of topics. The
following is a list of some topics.
If something else interests you, just run it by me for approval!

Animal Experimentation

Natural Disasters

Bullying

Capital Punishment

Child Labor

Cloning

Pollution

Standardized Tests

Social Media

Video Game Violence

Racism

Fracking

Modern Wars (Sudanese Civil War)

Right to Bear Arms Freedom of Speech

Come
up with 3 research questions about the topic you choose. In other words,
what do you want to know about that topic?

Research
those specific questions. We will be in the library for three days. You
should find at least 4 good sources. Only one of these may be a
traditional encyclopedia, like World
Book or Encyclopedia Britannica,
and can be in print or on the computer. Please make sure you have a
variety of sources (print or digital), such as books, videos,
encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers, reputable websites, et cetera. Two
sources must be from the library’s Virtual Reference Collection.

You
will be required to create a works cited page on Noodletools, listing
everything you’re using as research. As you research, write note cards for
your paper. You will need to have a minimum of 6 note cards on
Noodletools. This must be completed by Monday, April 21st. Your
note cards and works cited will count as a quiz grade.

Together,
we will be organizing your thoughts in an MLA-style outlineon
Noodletools. This must be done by Wednesday, April 23rd.Your outline will count as a class
work grade.

Turn
your outline into your research paper.

The
final copy of your paper will be due Friday, April 25th. The
paper should be typed, double-spaced, size 12 font, Times New Roman. Your
final research paper will count as a fourth quarter major assignment
grade.

A note on absences / lateness to school the day the paper is due.

You
have been told well in advance when the paper is due. Even if you are absent,
you MUST have someone trustworthy deliver the paper on that day. If you are
late to school and miss my class, you must make sure I get the paper that day.
If you are planning on leaving school early the day the paper is due, you must
give me the paper before you leave. If a dire emergency leaves you unable to
complete the paper or deliver it to me the day it’s due, you must include a
handwritten note from home explaining the reason for its lateness.

A reminder on the 7th grade English lateness policy

If
the research paper is late, you will lose ten points for each day it’s late, up
to three days. Your parent or guardian will be contacted if you fail to hand it
in by Thursday, May 1st. If the paper is not in by Monday, May 5th, it is a
flat 65 if it is handed in. If the paper is never handed in, it’s a zero.

A note on plagiarism

Plagiarism is essentially “idea-stealing”. It is taking credit for
information that is not your own original idea. While research is all about
getting information from other sources, you avoid plagiarism by giving credit
to the source of information. There are two ways to do this:

·Directly
quote the author. Use quotation marks around his/her own words, and mention
whose words these are.

·Put
the information in your own words. You
still must give credit to the author for the information! Use parenthetical
(in-text) citations to do this.

Plagiarism
is taken very seriously in our school, and we will spend more time in this unit
learning how to avoid plagiarizing a paper. If part or all of your research
paper is plagiarized, the dean and your parent / guardian must be notified. You
will be required to redo the assignment, and a 65 would be the highest grade obtainable.
Save yourself the trouble— showcase your own unique ideas, and give credit
where credit is due!